Package

ABSTRACT

A package for feed material comprising a package body consisting of sheet plastic and a de-aerating means having a de-aerating area, where an inner sheet layer and an outer sheet layer are provided to form a de-aeration channel to connect an inner de-aeration opening in connection with the interior of the package body with at least one outer de-aeration opening in connection with the environment of the package body. The de-aeration channel comprises two separate chambers interconnected through an overflow opening wherein the inner de-aeration opening is provided at the first chamber and the outer de-aeration opening, at the second chamber so as to increase water tightness.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the priority of German Patent Application,Serial No. 10 2006 022 815.4, filed May 13, 2006, pursuant to 35 U.S.C.119(a)-(d), the content of which is incorporated herein by reference inits entirety as if fully set forth herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a package for feed material, inparticular a bag and preferably a gusseted bag, consisting of sheetplastic to protect the feed material from moisture and comprising ade-aerating means for excess air to escape from the package.

Nothing in the following discussion of the state of the art is to beconstrued as an admission of prior art.

After filling bulk material into bags, the air trapped in the bag willescape over time such that in the absence of a de-aerating means, airbubbles may form at the top surface of the package. Such air bubbles arean impediment to the stacking capability and the bags can alsorelatively easily split or tear open at these places under pressureload. It is therefore reasonable to de-aerate plastic bags.

German document DE 10 2004 026 538 A1 discloses a plastic bag forfilling with bulk material having a multi-layer overlapping regionprovided in the top surface of the bag, comprising a de-aeration channelbetween first de-aeration openings in the inner plastic layer and secondde-aeration openings in the outer plastic layer. The first de-aerationopenings positioned in the center of the bag surface in the innerplastic layer are staggered in respect of the height relative to thesecond de-aeration openings in the outer plastic layer. Although thevertical staggering of the de-aeration openings toward the inside andtoward the outside of the bag serves to prevent moisture from enteringfor some time, the distance between the outer and the inner de-aerationopenings is less than half the bag length, the effect of sealing islimited in time.

It would therefore be desirable and advantageous to provide an improvedpackage to obviate prior art shortcomings and to allow de-aerating thebag while also increasing protection from entering moisture.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to one aspect of the present invention, a package for feedmaterial according to the invention is in particular configured as abag, comprising at least one package body of a sheet made of plastic andat least one de-aerating means with at least one de-aerating area wherean inner sheet layer and an outer sheet layer are provided. The innersheet layer and outer sheet layer form a de-aeration channel to connectat least one inner de-aeration opening that is in connection with theinterior of the package body with at least one outer de-aeration openingthat is in connection with the environment of the package body. Thede-aeration channel comprises at least two separate chambers being inconnection with one another through at least one overflow openingwherein the inner de-aeration opening is provided at the first chamberand the outer de-aeration opening, at the second chamber so as toincrease water tightness.

The package according to the invention comprises gussets in particularwhen empty, being provided with welding corners in particular in theregion of the gussets. In this way a rectangular shape and good stackingcapability of the filled package is ensured.

The invention has numerous advantages. One significant advantage is thatmoisture must cover a considerably longer distance before entering intothe package interior since the de-aeration channel comprises a firstchamber and a second chamber. Any moisture entering must thus firstlytravel the length of the second chamber, travel from the second chamberthrough the overflow opening to enter the first chamber and then travelthe length of the first chamber before the entering moisture reaches thepackage interior. In this way, the protection achieved from moisture ishigher than had been the case in the prior art.

According to another feature of the invention, the first and secondchambers may be positioned adjacent to and separated from one anothervia a separating seam. The separating seam may extend over a substantialportion of the length of the adjacent chambers where only the region ofthe overflow opening remains open. Adjacent chambers are easy tomanufacture, in particular with the package and the de-aerating devicecomprising two overlapping sheet layers and the package and the chambersof the de-aerating means being manufactured with welded seams or bondedseams or the like.

According to another feature of the invention, a release agent or aseparating layer or the like may be provided in the region of theoverflow opening or openings and/or in the region of the outerde-aeration opening. The material of the separating layer or releaseagent can be selected so as to prevent the two sheet layers from weldingor bonding together in the region of the separating layer. This is veryadvantageous since a simple manufacturing method allows to provide airpassage openings at positions in the package intended therefor.

The material used for the separating layer or the release agent maycontain e.g. silicone or polytetrafluoroethylene (Teflon; PTFE) orconsist of another suitable material. In place of a separating layer,the separating seam may be applied in specific spots so as to leave thede-aeration openings and the overflow opening open.

A release agent allows to omit the indexing of an additional materialfor bonding the surfaces such that a continuous joining seam of theadditional material may be employed. The release agent prevents thesheet layers from bonding with one another in the coated spots to thusgenerate the desired de-aeration and overflow openings. Furthermore, theadditional material joined with the non-coated sheet forms a sealing lipin the region of the opening to considerably impede any entering ofmoisture.

According to another feature of the invention, a plurality of innerde-aeration openings may be provided which are in particular configuredas de-aeration slits. The inner de-aeration openings are particularlypreferably provided at one end of the first chamber which end ispreferably provided near the front faces of the package.

This configuration with inner de-aeration openings in the vicinity ofthe end faces offers considerable advantages, in particular over thecited prior art, since in the case of a pressure exerted on a lying bagfrom above, de-aeration of the feed material is supported. The airtrapped in the package interior and escaping from the feed materialcollects in particular in the corners and at the package front faceswhen pressure is applied from above. Inner de-aeration openings in thevicinity of the end faces thus allow good draining and conveying of theair present in the bag.

According to another feature of the invention, at least one outerde-aeration opening may be provided at one end of the second chamber andthe outer de-aeration opening is in particular positioned in thevicinity of one end face of the package. Two or more outer de-aerationopenings may be provided wherein one of which will be positioned in thevicinity of one end face of the package. Positioning the outerde-aeration opening or openings in the vicinity of the front or endfaces of the package is also very advantageous since this allows trappedair to readily escape even from stacked packages, such that packagesstacked e.g. on a pallet can de-aerate properly.

The overflow opening may be positioned between the first chamber and thesecond chamber in a central region of the package body. This means thatthe overflow opening is positioned e.g. about at the height of the flatpackage top face in the center of the top face.

According to another feature of the invention, with the package bodyfilled the inner de-aeration openings and/or the outer de-aerationopenings may be provided at a height distance from the flat package topface wherein it is particularly preferred that the height distance ofthe inner and/or outer de-aeration openings from the flat package topface is larger than the height distance from the end seam which isprovided at half height of the package body. The height is measured hereperpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the package andperpendicular to the end seams of the package.

The height distance of the inner de-aeration openings and/or the outerde-aeration openings from the flat package top face may be between 25and 95% and in particular between 50 and 75% of the half-height of thepackage body in the filled state.

With both the inner and the outer de-aeration openings spaced from theflat package body top face and the overflow opening provided between thefirst and the second chamber of the de-aeration channel in the center ofthe flat top face, particular advantages will result since water ormoisture entering must in any case overcome the height differencebetween the inner or the outer de-aeration opening and the overflowopening. In the bags known from DE 10 2004 026 538 A1, entering moisturemust overcome the height difference only when the bag is positioned withthe provided side up. When the bag is turned over such that thepreviously bottom side is now facing up, any water entering through theouter de-aeration opening will be conveyed through the de-aerationchannel and due to gravity to the inner de-aeration opening which is inconnection with the feed material. This means that the prior art bagoffers increased moisture protection only in one specific position whilein the other position, protection is significantly lower.

In contrast thereto, a package according to the presently disclosedspecific embodiment requires any moisture entering to always overcome aheight difference, independently from the storage position of the bagssince the height difference is positive between the outer de-aerationopening and the overflow opening or between the overflow opening and theinner de-aeration opening.

According to another feature of the invention, the outer and the innerde-aeration openings may be positioned adjacent relative to one another.

Preferred configurations of the invention provide for the length of thede-aeration channel to be greater than the length of the package body.This is possible through the two chambers of the de-aeration channelwhose total length may exceed that of the package, which is not possiblewith the bag known from the prior art. A longer de-aeration channelallows better protection from entering moisture.

According to another feature of the invention, both the inner and theouter de-aeration openings may be spaced apart from the flat top surfaceof the package body and provided in the vicinity of one end, while theoverflow opening is provided between the first and the second chamber ofthe de-aeration channel in the vicinity of the other end and spacedapart from the flat top surface of the package body. This also resultsin particular advantages since water or moisture entering must in anycase overcome the sum of the height differences or twice the heightdifference between the inner or outer de-aeration opening and the topsurface of the package body.

According to another feature of the invention, the de-aeration channelmay include three or more chambers interconnected in a meander pattern.This configuration allows for a particularly long de-aeration channel.

All of the embodiments of the invention provide for the separating seambetween the chambers to be preferably welded or bonded.

The outer de-aeration opening in particular may be provided with asealing lip to improve protection against water entering. The sealinglip may be manufactured for example by inserting an extrusion seam or abonding seam or the like between the sheet layers during manufacturingof the package. The extrusion seam forms a stable connection of the twosheet layers up to the area of the de-aeration opening where aseparating layer or a release agent is provided to prevent that theextrusion seam or bonding seam adheres to any one of the two sheetlayers. The extrusion seam forms a sealing lip at the de-aerationopening to protect the opening from entering moisture.

All of the embodiments of the invention preferably provide depressionsand/or elevations to ensure that the de-aeration channel fulfills itsde-aeration function. The depressions and/or elevations are preferablyembossed and may be provided in the entire de-aeration channel or onlyin specific portions thereof. Webs or other spacers may be provided tokeep the sheet layers spaced apart.

Preferred specific embodiments of the invention provide for the packageto comprise gussets and corner joints at the package corners to ensure agenerally rectangular shape of the filled package.

According to another feature of the invention, at least one outerde-aeration opening may be provided at an end seam of the package.

All of the embodiments allow to provide at the de-aeration openings orat specific points in the de-aeration channel a fleece or a hygroscopicsubstance which when moisture enters, take up such moisture e.g. byswelling, or which cause the de-aeration channel to bond together.

The term de-aeration channel in the sense of this application isunderstood to mean a structure enclosed by walls which may serve toconvey air.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

Other features and advantages of the present invention will be morereadily apparent upon reading the following description of currentlypreferred exemplified embodiments of the invention with reference to theaccompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic top view of a package according to the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a general, simplistic sectional longitudinal view of thepackage in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a simplistic sectional side view of the package in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a simplistic top view of another package according to theinvention;

FIG. 5 is a third embodiment of a package according to the invention;

FIG. 6 is a general, simplistic sectional side view of a fourthembodiment of the package according to the invention; and

FIG. 7 is a cutaway, simplistic side view of the principle of a fifthembodiment of the package according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The depicted embodiments are to be understood as illustrative of theinvention and not as limiting in any way. It should also be understoodthat the figures are not necessarily to scale and that the embodimentsare sometimes illustrated by graphic symbols, phantom lines,diagrammatic representations and fragmentary views. In certaininstances, details which are not necessary for an understanding of thepresent invention or which render other details difficult to perceivemay have been omitted.

FIGS. 1 through 3 illustrate a first embodiment of a package 1 accordingto the invention configured as a bag, comprising a package body 2provided with gussets 3 made of a plastic sheet 4.

The package 1 serves to take feed material, in particular bulk material.In filling bulk material, air will as a rule enter the package alongwith the product to be bagged. Furthermore, an air bubble tends to formin the top region as the bag is closed. To allow the air present in thepackage to escape from the closed package 1, a de-aeration means 12 isprovided on the flat surface of the package 1. In the de-aeration area13, an inner sheet layer 14 that is adjacent to the product present inthe interior volume of the package 1 overlaps with an outer sheet layer15 that is adjacent to the environment.

Between the two sheet layers 14 and 15 there is positioned a de-aerationchannel 16 connecting a plurality of inner de-aeration openings 17 withone or two outer de-aeration openings 18, thus providing a flow channelfor the escaping air.

The de-aeration channel 16 comprises a first chamber 19 and a secondchamber 20 which in the embodiment of FIG. 1 are interconnected throughan overflow opening 21 in a central region of the package surface. Theair present in the package and entering the first chamber 19 of thede-aeration channel 16 through the inner de-aeration openings 17 isconveyed along the first chamber 19 of the de-aeration channel 16 up tothe overflow opening 21 where it moves into the second chamber 20 of thede-aeration channel 16 where it is conveyed up to the outer de-aerationopenings 18 positioned in the region of the outer edge of the secondchamber 20, where it is transmitted to the exterior.

The two chambers 19 and 20 of the de-aeration channel 16 separated by aconnecting seam 22, create a longer de-aeration channel than would bepossible with only one de-aeration channel with only one chamber. Inthis way, security against moisture or water entering from outside isimproved.

The inner de-aeration openings 17 are configured as short slits whoselength in the present embodiment is not more than 5 mm. The overflowopening 21 is approximately 100 mm in length given a length of the bagof e.g. 40-80 cm.

The regions of the overflow opening 21 and the outer de-aerationopenings 18 may each be provided with a separating layer 23 in the formof a release agent which in manufacturing the package 1 prevents theinner sheet layer 14 and the outer sheet layer 15 from welding orbonding together near the openings to ensure good function of thede-aeration channel 16.

The de-aeration region 13 may be provided with depressions and/orelevations 24 in the first chamber 19 and the second chamber 20, whichare e.g. embossed to thus ensure that air is conveyed through thede-aeration channel 16. Other than shown in the illustration in FIG. 1the depressions and/or elevations 24 serving as spacers are distributedover the entire surface of the de-aeration channel 16.

To enhance the sealing effect against water entering through the outerde-aeration openings, there may be provided in the region of thede-aeration opening 18 a bead between the inner sheet layer 14 and theouter sheet layer 15 to further improve the sealing effect against waterentering.

The package 1 achieves reasonable de-aeration in storage or even withpressure applied although the de-aeration channel 16 is designed clearlylonger than de-aeration channels known in the prior art. This effect iscaused among other things in that the inner de-aeration openings 17 andalso the outer de-aeration openings 18 are positioned in a regionadjacent to the end seams 5 and 10 of the package 1.

When pressure is applied to the filled bag lying flat, the air presentin the package is pushed towards the ends and the corners of the packagewhere it can be released through the inner de-aeration openings 17 intothe de-aeration channel 16. The elevations and/or depressions 24 ensurethat air is conveyed through the entire de-aeration channel 16 up to theouter de-aeration openings 18 for the present air to escape.

The inner de-aeration openings 17 and the outer de-aeration openings 18are furthermore in particular not positioned on the top package surfacebut in the vicinity of the end seams where the local surface is inclinedhorizontally or towards the top package surface. This creates a heightdifference 27 between the overflow opening and the layer of the outerde-aeration openings 18 or the inner de-aeration openings 17 whichconsiderably improves the sealing effect against moisture entering fromoutside.

This is because in the position illustrated in FIG. 2, moisture enteringfrom outside through the de-aeration opening 18 must firstly overcomethe height difference up to the overflow opening 21 before it canpenetrate further into the bag.

When the package happens to lie topside down, although any moistureentering can run downwardly due to the downward inclination between theouter de-aeration opening 18 and the overflow opening 21, for enteringinto the bag interior it must still overcome the height difference 27between the overflow opening 21 now on the bottom and the de-aerationopenings 17 positioned further above.

In this way, considerable safety from becoming moist is achieved in bothof the two possible positions. This is positive in particular because inpractice, one cannot assume e.g. that cement bags will always be storedwith the same side facing up.

The arrows 25 show the path of air escaping from the inner de-aerationopening 17 through the chamber 19 and the overflow opening 21, andthrough the chamber 20 and the outer de-aeration openings 18 to theoutside.

For achieving an optically attractive shape of the filled package andbetter stacking capability, the package corners 8 are welded off by wayof corner joints 7. The welded off corners 8 may be provided withopenings 9 which in conjunction with the corners 8 and the end seam 5 or10 may form a carrier element 11 for the user to comfortably carry thepackage 1. The packages according to the other embodiments are alsoprovided with welding corners to achieve good stacking capabilitywherein the welding seams have been omitted in the Figures for the sakeof clarity.

The simplistic and only general illustration of the bag 1 according tothe invention shown in FIG. 2 in a sectional longitudinal view shows theend seams 5 and 10 at the two ends 6 of the package 1. The outerde-aeration openings 18 having a height distance 27 of the overflowopening 21 on the top surface of the package 1 open near the ends 6 tostill further increase moisture tightness. FIG. 2 does not show theinner de-aeration openings 17 also provided at the height of the outerde-aeration openings 18 to guarantee a height difference 27 independentof the bag position.

FIG. 3 shows a schematic sectional side view where the parallel chambers19 and 20 of the de-aeration channel between the outer sheet layer 15and the inner sheet layer 14 can be seen.

FIG. 4 shows another embodiment of a package 1 according to theinvention in a simplistic top view. Unlike the embodiment in FIG. 1, theembodiment of FIG. 4 provides the inner de-aeration openings 17 and theouter de-aeration opening 18 only at one end 6 of the package 1. Thisallows that a particularly long de-aeration channel 16 is formed of thechambers 19 and 20 which may extend over nearly double the bag length.Where inner de-aeration openings 17 are provided at one end of thepackage only, these are preferably positioned in the vicinity of thehead seam since after filling an air bubble will form there which canthen readily drain off.

The embodiment of a package 1 according to the invention illustrated inFIG. 5 is provided with three chambers 19, 20 and 26 which combined formthe de-aeration channel 16. Therein the third chamber 26 is positionedbetween the first chamber 19 and the second chamber 20, thus extendingthe de-aeration channel 16 overall. The longer the overlapping area L ofthe intermediate seams and the narrower the width A of the intermediatechamber 26, the better the sealing effect against entering moisture. Inthis embodiment the inner de-aeration openings 17 and the outerde-aeration openings 18 are also provided in end regions of the package1 so as to ensure reasonable de-aeration even for stacked packages.

In this embodiment the separating seams 22 a and 22 b are notinterrupted for forming overflow openings 21 but the separating seamsterminate before the ends of their chambers so as to form overflowopenings 21 at the ends of the chambers.

Unlike the illustration in FIG. 5, both package ends may be providedwith outer de-aeration openings 18 and/or inner de-aeration openings 17.

FIG. 6 illustrates a fourth embodiment of a package according to theinvention in a general and simplistic sectional side view. In thisembodiment the package body 2, the outer sheet layer 15 and the innersheet layer 14 are formed integrally. The first and second chambers 19,20 are positioned adjacent to one another. The chambers extend one abovethe other at least in part and, depending on the configuration they maybe not at all adjacent. A separate interlayer 28 between the outer sheetlayer 15 and the inner sheet layer 14 separates the two chambers 19 and20 from one another. The individual chambers are subdivided by means ofseams 29 at the sheet.

In the fifth embodiment of a package according to the inventionillustrated in FIG. 7 at least part of the first and second chambers arealso positioned one above the other. The interlayer 28 is also formedintegrally of the sheet such that the package body 2, the outer sheetlayer 15 and the inner sheet layer 14 and the interlayer 28 consist ofone piece of sheet. In manufacturing, the individual sheet layers 14,15, and 28 are created by folding over and stacking the sheet and usingsuitable intermediate or bonded seams 29. The intermediate or bondedseams 29 separate and seal the chambers 19 and 20 from the side faces,except in those points where a separating layer 23 is provided (see FIG.1).

While the invention has been illustrated and described in connectionwith currently preferred embodiments shown and described in detail, itis not intended to be limited to the details shown since variousmodifications and structural changes may be made without departing inany way from the spirit of the present invention. The embodiments werechosen and described in order to best explain the principles of theinvention and practical application to thereby enable a person skilledin the art to best utilize the invention and various embodiments withvarious modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.

What is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters patent isset forth in the appended claims and includes equivalents of theelements recited therein:

1. A package for a filling material, comprising: a package body made ofa plastic sheet and having an interior; a venting device having ade-aerating area bounded by an inner sheet layer and an outer sheetlayer and defining a de-aeration channel in communication with theinterior of the package body by an inner de-aeration opening and incommunication with the surroundings of the package body by an outerde-aeration opening, wherein the de-aeration channel has at least twoseparate chambers and an overflow opening for interconnecting the twochambers, with the inner de-aeration opening provided on one of the twochambers, and the outer de-aeration opening provided on the other one ofthe two chambers, for enhancing a water tightness.
 2. The package ofclaim 1, wherein the two chambers are disposed in side-by-siderelationship and separated from one another along a major lengthdimension thereof by a separating seam.
 3. The package of claim 1,wherein the de-aeration device includes a separation layer in at leastone region selected from the group consisting of overflow opening andouter de-aeration opening.
 4. The package of claim 1, wherein thede-aeration device includes a plurality of said inner de-aerationopening on one end of the one chamber.
 5. The package of claim 1,wherein the inner de-aeration opening is constructed as a perforation orslit.
 6. The package of claim 1, wherein the outer de-aeration openingis disposed on one end of the other chamber.
 7. The package of claim 1,wherein the overflow opening is disposed at a central region of thepackage body.
 8. The package of claim 1, wherein the package body has aflat topside, said inner and outer de-aeration openings being disposedat a vertical distance to the flat topside, when the package body isfilled.
 9. The package of claim 8, wherein the inner and outer sheetlayers have ends interconnected by a seam, said vertical distance of theinner and outer de-aeration openings being greater than a verticaldistance of the inner and outer de-aeration openings to the end seam ofthe package body.
 10. The package of claim 1, wherein the de-aerationchannel has a length which is greater than a length of the package body.11. The package of claim 1, wherein the de-aeration channel has at leastthree chambers which are connected in the form of a meander.
 12. Thepackage of claim 1, wherein the inner and outer de-aeration openings aredisposed in side-by-side relationship.
 13. The package of claim 2,wherein the separating seam between the chambers is a welding seam. 14.The package of claim 1, wherein the package body has opposite lengthsides, said outer de-aeration opening being disposed in proximity of oneof the length sides, and another said de-aeration opening being disposedin proximity of the other one of the length sides.
 15. The package ofclaim 1, further comprising a sealing lip on the outer de-aerationopening.
 16. The package of claim 1, wherein the de-aeration channelshas depressions and/or elevations to ensure a de-aeration function. 17.The package of claim 1, wherein the inner and outer de-aeration openingsare disposed in proximity of ends of the package body, and the overflowopening is disposed in a central region of the package body.
 18. Thepackage of claim 1, wherein the package body and the inner and outersheet layers define a single-piece construction.
 19. The package ofclaim 1, wherein the de-aeration device includes an intermediate layerbetween the inner and outer sheet layers.
 20. The package of claim 1,wherein the two chambers overlap one another, at least in part.
 21. Thepackage of claim 19, wherein the package body, the inner and outer sheetlayers, and the intermediate layer define a single-piece construction.